Decoding Aihara Mei
by corrupt morality core
Summary: After accidentally devoting my life to figuring out the inner workings of Mei's mind, I decided to turn my findings into a series of one-shots. I don't own any citrus characters, yada yada... I hope you enjoy :) Rated T for swearing (and optimism for future chapters)
1. train station fun

Mei scanned the crowd of students gathered around the station, trying to look as nonchalant as she could manage, looking for a blonde head of hair more nervously than she would admit.

Yuzu was late and she felt partly responsible, seeing as she let her sleep even as she left the house. She knew she should have woken her up, but she couldn't bring herself to face her, in case avoiding her for more than a month hadn't already made that obvious. In fact their interactions had dropped to such a minimum, she wasn't even sure what would happen if they had to face each other for more than a few minutes while she lacked a decent pretext to run away. The tables had turned so unexpectedly and it was now her turn to feel unnerved in Yuzu's presence, while she let the older girl take her place as the cool-headed and unaffected one. Of course she wasn't planning on letting Yuzu in on that, especially after already getting rejected once, and so she methodically avoided her like hell. (author's note: cause God forbid Yuzu finds out Mei has feelings)

Mei sighed nervously, checking the time on her phone again. Fuck, it was almost time to go and Yuzu was still nowhere to be found. Mei wondered if maybe she had already arrived without her noticing, but quickly dismissed the thought, admitting to herself that the way she had been inspecting the crowd at the station she wouldn't miss the girl even if she'd spontaneously decided to dye her hair back to it's natural color right after Mei left the house. After hearing a teacher starting to round everyone up for roll call she looked back at the phone in her hand, contemplating calling Yuzu, but she almost instantly let her hand fall to her side thinking she couldn't possibly do that. After a few seconds of students gathering closer to the teacher, and still failing to spot the troublesome blonde, the impending guilt of the girl missing the trip she was so excited for got the better of her and muttering "fuck it" under her breath as she once again brought her hand up, this time going to her contacts and quickly finding Yuzu's number.

Just as she was about to press the call button a voice called to her from behind, the proximity of which made her eyes widen in surprise as she swiftly turned to face the person invading her personal space.

"Good morning prez!" Harumi spoke with a cross of a smile and a smirk on her lips, making Mei shortly contemplate whether or not she took a glimpse at her phone screen before she got jump-scared. Oh well, she thought, pocketing the device, there was the distinct possibility the girl knew more than she let on anyway.

"Taniguchi-san" Mei replied, now that she regained her composure, acknowledging her presence more than anything else, seeing as her mind was occupied with the pressing matter of Yuzu's tardiness.

"Aww, no need to be so formal!" Harumi answered instantly, her smile not faltering for a second as she took in Mei's distracted expression. "We'll be sharing a room now, won't we? Just call me Harumin."

"Alright." Mei answered hastily, barely paying attention to the conversation as she contemplatively looked at the girl before swallowing her pride and directing a single angry thought towards the subject matter for leaving her no choice but to do so as she asked "Have you seen Yuzu?"

Harumi was definitely smirking now, not pretending to buy into Mei's calm facade for even a second.

"Oh yeah, she called. She's not gonna make it, most likely." Mei's eyes shifted to the girl, widening ever so slightly for second, but Harumi continued talking, pretending that small pause she made was unintentional. "She said she'll take the next train if that happens." she added, satisfied by the small, but still noticeable reaction Mei had to her words.

"I see." Mei said, ignoring the slight annoyance Harumi's knowing smile invoked, and allowing herself to feel relieved knowing that Yuzu was on her way, but also because this little mishap would allow for her to run from her feelings a little bit longer, which she desperately needed right now. For the next few days she would have to face what she feared the most presented to her in almost irresistible packaging, made even more difficult by the fact that petty excuses to run away and her –until now– ever-present shield of student council work could hardly follow her to Kyoto.

Mei excused herself before leaving Harumi's side after being called by a teacher, suppressing an amused laugh as she realized her thoughts seemed to be more fitting for a video game boss fight rather than her loving, human teddy bear of a sister. Oh well, not really all that "loving" for me, some part of her added bitterly, but she quickly shushed it, refusing to be reduced to a self-pitying ball of sadness right in front of everyone in her year.

Backtracking to her previous, less painful thoughts, she had a sudden realization. This felt like a boss battle because that was exactly what it was. No matter the outcome, she was acutely aware of her incapability to just let things be when the option of fleeing became unavailable. The unavoidable proximity that would result from this trip would most definitely prompt an unforeseeable response on her part – as prolonged exposure to Yuzu always seemed to provoke. This only meant one thing: something would change in the course of the next few days. Whether it would be for the better or for the worse was debatable, even though the rejection she faced not too long ago didn't make her feel optimistic.

Maybe... maybe she could try speaking from her heart for once. She even sure she was capable of going through with it, but even the slightest possibility of Yuzu accepting her was worth a try, and it was still better than the foolproof failure plan she currently had in effect. By the time she boarded the train she had already made up her mind. It felt strange, exactly like what someone she had already met once but was soon to meet again, would describe as destiny.

* * *

><p><strong>Right, well, I hope you can excuse the wishful thinking and silly metaphors that went into this. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!<strong>

**Constructive criticism is very much welcome! Also feel free to PM me or contact me on my tumblr (displayed on my account page) for anything you might want to talk about. Have a great day :D**

**p.s. please do let me know if you think something is ofc, fanfiction is not my strong suit, but I'd like to improve.  
><strong>


	2. sleepytime fun 0,1

This was one of the thoughts I had this morning when I woke up, between wondering how one would climb out of a giant flower and thinking of Mary Poppins... Yeah, random, I know. Anyways, I figured I would write about a few of the nights in the Aihara household (this is just one of them).

I would say this happens sometime during chapter 11, after Yuzu asks Mei to keep her schedule open of Christmas and before Matsuri decides to be a little... *clears throat* more... forceful.

Before you proceed I should warn you, this is pointless, unnecessary and cute.

* * *

><p>It was a late night for Mei. Student council work had kept her up, and she had stayed in the living room so that she wouldn't bother Yuzu in case she wanted to turn in early. As she had suspected, finally opening the door to the bedroom late at night, she found the blonde sprawled on the bed, above the covers, her phone a few inches away from her hand as she slept soundly.<p>

Shaking her head to herself, she walked over, taking the phone and placing it on the desk before going over to the sleeping girl and slightly nudging her on the shoulder.

"Yuzu" she called her name softly, and that was all it took for half open, disoriented eyes to open up, barely focusing on her face.

"Mmm..." Yuzu let out a cute little moan as she rubbed one of her eyes sleepily "Mei?"

"You fell asleep. Get under the covers or you'll catch a cold." Mei spoke in the same gentle voice, allowing herself to admire Yuzu's cuteness now that the girl wouldn't notice the attention.

"Okay." Yuzu murmured, both her hands covering her eyes this time. "Help me?"

Mei sighed in resignation, more for the sake of appearances than an actual portrayal of her feelings since she wasn't all that bothered. She kind of enjoyed getting to see Yuzu like this and so she patiently waited for her to sit up before she pulled the covers, letting the girl shift inside them, and covering her once she had lain down. She spared a few milliseconds, covers still in her hands, hovering over the older girl as she fought the ridiculous urge to kiss her forehead goodnight. Mentally reprimanding herself she straightened up and started walking away, but not before Yuzu called "Thanks, Mei", turning on her side and closing her eyes once again, an involuntary smile on her lips.

* * *

><p>Do I win tiniest chapter of the fandom award or what? :P<p>

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! This took virtually no time to write, so there should be another one of these up by Christmas the latest :D


	3. sleepytime fun 0,2

Merry Christmas everyone! I want to apologize if this is coming a little late for some of you but I had some technical difficulties I'm sure you're not intrested in learning about... Please excuse any spelling and grammatical errors as well, I didn't really have as much time to edit as I'd like.

Anyway, this is another sleepytime, this time taking place right after Mei saw Matsuri kissing Yuzu.

I would like to point out that while this sleepytime is longer than the previous one, neither are indication of future chapters. I don't normally make note of how long the things I write end up being, I just end them when I feel they've reached their natural end and I will not rewrite something unless I'm displeased with the content. I'm genuinely sorry if it bothers you, but this is the only way I know how to do things. Sorry for the super long note too, I just felt this needed to be resolved.

* * *

><p>Yuzu was asleep. Her muscles relaxed and her breathing falling into a regular pace, a cascade of blonde hair on the pillow as her back was turned to Mei. She had watched her all this time, too worried to fall asleep.<p>

Yuzu was pulling away. Or rather, she had let herself be pushed away. ' I'm such an idiot ' Mei thought, covering her eyes with her arm. Of all the things she'd told Yuzu, "acting like sisters" was the one she decided to be obidient about. She knew it was all her fault and if she wanted to take it back she would, but from the way that pinkheaded girl had her tongue halfway down Yuzu's throat, it seemed it was too late.

Mei supressed a frustrated grunt as she turned on her side, facing Yuzu's back, trying to flush the image out of her mind, and failing. And that smug look the brat had on her face... her thoughts trailed off into a random assortment of violent acts that would wipe it right off. She did wonder whether the girl knew of her or would look at any random passersby in the same challenging way, but she didn't dwell on that thought for to long.

Looking at Yuzu's sleeping form seemed to calm her down a little, but it also seemed to awake that desperate need to be closer to her she had felt when she hugged her earlier that night. As if holding her would prevent her from pulling away, Mei could only cling to her, desperately willing her to understand how important she had become to her in the short time they had spent living under one roof.

Mei noticed her hand on Yuzu's hair and it took her a second too long to realize what she was doing. Her hand stilled, but she didn't it pull back and after a few seconds of inner conflict she was moving it once more, stroking the golden strands deliberately, as if the act required her full concentration.

Biting her lip in contemplation, she regarded the sleeping girl for a bit, but quickly allowed herself to get carried away, tracing patterns on the girl's back with her fingers, wondering how she would excuse her behavior in case she woke Yuzu up, but she was too caught up with the possibility of losing her altogether to care. Heck, if she woke up right this moment she might even kiss her... amongst other appreciative gestures...

Encouraged by her own thoughts her hand trailed higher, above Yuzu's collar, behind the waterfall of hair she gently pulled out of the way, she back of her neck was now visible to her. Less than two hours ago she had kissed that very same place, and reminding herself of the result that had on her "sister", the tips of her fingers closed in on the exposed skin as of on their own accord.

Barely touching, Mei carefully brushed the length of Yuzu's neck, her hand slipping to the side before she heard a sound that both terrified and excited her. Once again she froze in her tracks, just as second moan escaped Yuzu.

Before she could decide on a course of action, Yuzu started turning around, forcing her to pull her hand back, holding it with her other one like an incriminating piece of evidence, too overwhelmed to even close her eyes. All too fast, Yuzu was laying on her back, and Mei surveyed her relaxed, clearly sleeping face, relief washing over her fast, as the blonde muttered something incomprehensible and plopped her right hand on the mattress -for emphasis, Mei guessed- almost hitting her in process.

Unable to supress a smile, she scooted closer. Figuring she might as well throw all caution to the wind for one night, she took Yuzu's hand in hers and brought it to her face, quietly praying she hadn't really given up on her just yet.

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed! :)<p>

Reviews, comments, and pointers in words, interpretative dance and/or the emoji you never have an excuse to use, as always welcome. Feel free to contact on here, my tumblr or by whispering into the closest available well...

it's been a long night.. happy holidays guys! :D


End file.
